Shattered Mind
by HeCallsMeHisChild
Summary: Dib has laid out every single thing he will do to Zim and how he will get his hands on the alien, but he didn't count on Zim's intense will to survive, even from the grave...
1. Best Laid Plans

"This is it, tonight is the night, Gaz. Tonight is the night I take Zim down for good!" Dib's fingers trembled with excitement as he zipped up his black Shadow Suit and fitted on his goggles.

Gaz grunted from the couch as she slaughtered a vampire hog. Switching off her GameSlave, she opened one eye. "What makes you so sure you'll catch him off guard tonight? You never have before."

"This is different," he insisted, pulling up his hood. "This time I have a full graphical layout of Zim's base, along with all its safeguards and booby-traps. I know where every trip-wire and alarm system is, along with all his overriding security passwords to bypass and disable the house computer."

Gaz opened both eyes. "How did you get all that?

He shrugged. "I asked GIR."

"Makes sense." she nodded, resuming her game.

………………………………………………………………………………………...

"GIR! Stop all this racket, I must concentrate!" Zim glowered as GIR raced around the room, giggling and clucking.

"I wanna play tennis! Can I have a chicken? I want a kiss! Piggy want ta come over and minimoose is running into tha wall! Wheeeeee!"

Zim yanked his antennae, straining to keep control. "GIR, go watch TV upstairs before I dismantle your pathetic CPU!"

GIR doubled over, laughing. "I like bein' dismantled!" With that, he shot past Zim and up the elevator shaft.

Frowning, Zim turned back to the screen. "Computer, run shell-scan and continuous monitor."

**Acknowledged.** Robotic arms shifted into place around him. With a deep breath, Zim pulled at his PAK. It broke free with a painful snap and he gently placed it on the desk in front of him, grinding his teeth at the pain. Without pausing, he opened the control panel and began pushing buttons and downloading codes.

Minutes passed. His red eyes took on a dull sheen and his thoughts clouded. Frustrated, he fumbled the panel shut and ordered thickly, "Computer, reattach."

**Acknowledged. Reattaching PAK.** The arms seized the PAK and held it against Zim's back. Energy flowed through him as the familiar wires snapped into place.

Sighing in satisfaction, he muttered, "No one will destroy Zim now, no one. Never."

………………………………………………………………………………………...

Dib ducked behind Zim's fence. _Here I go!_ Flattening himself to the sidewalk, he manipulated a control on his wrist. Six sets of wheels extended from his suit and he rolled himself forward.

He slid past rows of lawn gnomes trained to zap any intruder at eye-level. _Stupid Zim,_ Dib chuckled to himself quietly. _Never checks for security flaws because, of course, there couldn't possibly be any._ Keeping his head down, he pulled himself to the front door. With the twist of a knob on his wrist, his padded gloves morphed into sharpened claws. With calm precision, he raised the corner of the false footpath, revealing a worn keypad. He tapped in the passcode and a hold opened in the ground beside him. Tip-toeing around to the far side, he stepped over a "decorative rock", counted to three, and jumped into the hole.

As he fell, lasers flashed above and below him every so often, but he had timed his jump well and landed on the ground without a singe. Rolling aside, he picked himself up as a boulder crashed behind him. He took in the large, circular room at a glance and spotted a flashing panel on the far side. With seconds to go, he raced to the far wall and input a complex code, disabling the computer.

**Hey, you are nooooooot Ziiiiiiiiiiiimmmmmm….**

The computer wound down and Dib dashed off through a nearby tunnel, ducking the sensor beams and passing door after door. Skidding to a halt, he typed in one more code and burst through.

………………………………………………………………………………………...

Zim glanced up in beleaguered annoyance. "GIR? Is that you? I told you to go watch TV, now go away, I'm very tired right now." He groaned. He hadn't known the operation would drain so much energy from him.

"Guess again, Zim!" The harsh voice was all too familiar. Zim's eyes narrowed as he caught sight of Dib.

"How did you get past the defenses, stink-meat?"

Dib smirked. "That's for me to know and you to find out, but it really won't matter. In a matter of seconds you'll be in my power, subject to my every whim."

Zim rolled his eyes. "Computer, eject this pitiful failure."

There was no response.

Worried, Zim called louder, "Computer? Eject the Dib!"

Dib laughed evilly. "Hah, the joke's on _you_, Zim! I knew the computer override, so I shut it down. You'll have to face me alone, Zim!" He advanced, pulling out a stun gun.

Zim backstepped. He activated his spiderlegs and sprang at Dib, snarling. Dib dodged to the side and zapped one of the legs, which jerked and dangled uselessly. Zim tottered and began to fall, catching himself at the last minute. Furious, he retracted the legs and launched himself at Dib, who grinned and shot Zim point-blank with the stunner.

What little strength Zim had mustered utterly deserted him and he tumbled past Dib, landing in a heap. _No! The fight was too short, I didn't even get the chance to fight him properly!_ He glanced up to see Dib approaching confidently.

"It's about time we got you to the autopsy table, Zim." He squatted down. "You should never have come, stupid alien."

To his surprise, Zim smiled back, a cold, chilling smile. "You think you've won, Dib? No, you have not won, you will never win. I will die, but you will live. Oh and such a life you will live, so horrible you shall wish you were never born. I will always be with you, when you least expect it. I shall never die as long as you live, for I AM ZIM!"

With that, he extended his self-destruct mechanism and pushed the button.

………………………………………………………………………………………...

**Note:** This was a FanFic challenge from Invader Sideos, who is an awesome writer, and frankly I don't know why he didn't write this himself, but I'm taking him up on it cause it's such an awesome idea!


	2. PAK Attack

The blast threw Dib to the far wall, slamming his head on the concrete. Dazed, he scrambled to his feet. The room was filled with billowing green smoke. He choked, dropping to his knees and crawling to where Zim had been.

A blackened, steaming crater. That was all that was left. Dib felt his fury rising. "No! This wasn't how it was supposed to be! I was supposed to get you this time! You were rightfully mine. How dare you blow up!" He slammed a fist down, ignoring the pain.

Cautiously, he peered into the crater to see if there was anything left of Zim to salvage. Something flashed a few feet away. His heart quickened. _It couldn't be…_ he snatched at the lights and uttered a crow of triumph as he withdrew a PAK, blackened and dented, but in a single piece.

"Yes! Proof! Proof! I'll bring it to the Swollen Eyeball meeting tomorrow and tell them I destroyed the alien threat. I'll be a hero! Then I'll pull this thing apart. I'll probably be able to find more about Zim from this thing than from his body." Grinning at the vapors above him, he shouted, "Thanks Zim! Best present you could have ever given me."

Chuckling, he dashed for the nearest lifter. The sooner he got home the better.

………………………………………………………………………………….

GIR shuffled out of the shadows of a control panel. "Master," he said sadly. "You went 'way." The bot let out a rending scream that shook the base, and fell to the ground, pounding his little fists and sobbing, "Why? Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyy?"

………………………………………………………………………………….

"…and so, as you see, the alien is no longer a threat to us. But we must always be on the alert for others, because the Irken Armada is still out there. It just isn't interested in earth… yet."

He stood before the Swollen Eyeball committee, every eye trained on him. As he concluded, every last one stood and broke into heartfelt applause.

Agent Darkbooty stepped forward. "Agent Mothman, we of the Swollen Eyeball owe you so much. Please accept this certificate of Valor in the Paranormal Observation Field for your extraordinary paranormal research."

Dib shuffled. "Aw, it was nothing." He mumbled gleefully.

Darkbooty stiffened. "Nothing? Nothing! You only saved the human race from annihilation and you call that nothing?" He turned to the committee. "And humble too! Gentlemen, I think the choice is clear. Who here disagrees?"

No one spoke. Suppressing his excitement, Dib casually asked, "Disagree with what?"

Dropping to one knee, Darkbooty reaching into his pocket and withdrew a necklace. Dangling on the end was a large, mesmerizing purple eyeball. "We of the Swollen Eyeball took a vote and unanimously decided to elect you president of this organization. Please kneed, place your hand on the eyeball, and repeat after me: I, Dib Membrane."

"I, Dib Membrane,"

"Do solemnly swear to never reveal or repeat any of the secrets of the Eyeball."

"Do solemnly swear to never reveal or repeat any of the secrets of the Eyeball."

"I swear to do my utmost to uncover the paranormal mysteries of this world, whether the world accords me credit or not."

"I swear to do my utmost to uncover the paranormal mysteries of this world, whether the world accords me credit or not."

"And I swear to help guard the earth from their dangers."

"And I swear to—Augh!" A stabbing pain pierced Dib's back. He sprawled forward, flailing wildly. Darkbooty and the Eyeball committee dissolved into the nighttime darkness of his bedroom, but the pain continued. His head pounded wildly.

Gingerly craning his arm around to his back, he felt a hard lump. Turning on the night lamp by his bed, he glanced at his desk. With a shock, he realized that the locked safe he had put Zim's PAK in was a smoking mass of jagged, twisted metal.

Terrified, he gripped the lump on his back and tugged. Searing pain ripped up his spine and he groaned in agony.

"Shut up!" Gaz yelled from across the hall. "Some of us are trying to sleep!"

"Gaz," he gasped. "Gaz… help…"

"Are you being stupid again?"

Desperate, he dashed out of his room and into Gaz'. She sat in bed, her face dark with suppressed fury. Dib fell to the floor in front of her. "Gaz, help! It's Zim's PAK, it's on my back and it's doing something, get it off!"

Her anger vanished. With wide eyes she hopped off the bed and gripped the PAK, wrenching it off her brother.

A moment of overwhelming pain crashed through his spine and head. Then, nothing.

………………………………………………………………………………….

"…and if you don't wake up, I'll send you into a flaming pit of utter despair!"

"Now now, Gaz, that's no way to talk to your poor, unconscious brother."

"But he started it by passing out!"

"Just give him time, he'll come around."

Dib remained utterly still, his eyes darting under his eyelids, his ears straining for every sound.

_Why am I so tense? It's just Gaz and Dad._

_For all you know, that's what they want you to think!_

_Good grief, I gotta stop watching those old spy movies._

Relaxing his muscles, he forced his eyes open. Gaz stood there, her fists clenching and unclenching, the way they did when she was scared and didn't want anyone to know. Dad was there too, wringing his gloves and muttering the periodic table to himself. Dib grinned. _He's reciting backwards, he must be really worried._

"Miss me?" he croaked.

Gaz' eyes opened wide with relief before she regained control of her emotions.

"It's about time, you idiot. You had Dad worried half to death."

"Just Dad?" he cracked.

Glaring, she gritted out, "Just Dad."

"Now now, you two," the Professor butted in brightly, "No need to argue right away, let's let Dib rest a bit first, hmm?" A light flashed on his sleeve, and he exclaimed, "Ah, well, now that you're alright it's back to the lab. Rest up, Dib. Drink plenty of fluids, and have soup tonight. See you later." With that, he marched out of the room, humming a tune.

Dib rolled his head around so he could see Gaz better. She had just opened a can of soda. "What happened?"

She shrugged. "You barged into my room screaming bloody murder that Zim's PAK was attacking you. I pulled it off and you passed out. You _are_ going to get those blood stains off my rug, right?"

"Yes Gaz," he sighed. "Where's Zim's PAK?"

"Over there." She pointed. "Hey, I think it woke up."

His head whipped around. The PAK was snaking spiderlegs toward him. Horrified, he leapt from the bed and fumbled at the control panel, pening the doors as a wire snaked down his pack and plunged into the… hole?... it found there. Terror rushed through him and he began yanking at every wire he saw.

A spider leg sliced at his head, tearing a ragged gash down his cheek. He shrieked in pain but continued yanking. He snatched Gaz' soda and poured it into the circuitry.

Every wire and leg shot straight out. Sparks flew and electricity sizzled Dib's skull, throwing him backwards. A flash of red and green enveloped the room and vanished two seconds later, leaving Dib blinking at the afterimage. He glanced toward the PAK, but it had disappeared.

Gaz looked from her wrecked room, to her empty hands, to her stunned brother and growled, "You will pay, Dib. That was the last soda."


	3. Red Flags

**Note: I forgot to repeat last chapter, but this was a fanfic challenge from a great writer on this site, Invader Sideos, and I am eternally grateful for the chance at writing for this awesome idea, and do hope that if I'm butchering it he'll let me know so I can fix that. He also wrote the Invader's Oath, at the bottom of the page.**

Dib staggered into Skool the next day, sore all over. The only thing worse than the beating Gaz had given him was the dull throb in his head that had kept him awake all night. Stumbling into class, he headed for his seat.

"Late, Dib?" Miss Bitters sneered. "What happened this time, A) Bigfoot attacked, B) Ghost attacked, or C) man-eating gerbil attacked?"

He frowned and opened his mouth to reply, but catching sight of a beetle crawling up her neck, he ducked his head and muttered an apology. Miss Bitters' beetles always warned when she was in an extra-foul mood.

Taking his seat, he rubbed his temples and tried to relax.

"As I was saying, class, we are discussing the structural weaknesses of this school building."

_So much for relaxing._

"Turn your attention to the blueprint I'm pulling out."

As she turned to pull the drawstring that would reveal the blueprint, something hit the back of Dib's head. His eyes narrowed as he turned and spotted the eraser which had been thrown at him. His head snapped up and he scanned the mass of schoolchildren, most of whom were snickering. In seconds he calculated where the eraser had been thrown from, based on the angle, velocity, trajectory, and analysis of guilty features.

With a feral snarl, he sprang from his chair and launched himself at the guilty party; Torque. Torque's grin froze, and Dib noted a small flash of fear in his eyes with grim satisfaction, half a second before the collision. Torque's desk splintered as he and Dib toppled into the aisle, each fighting to get on top of the other.

Straddling Torque's chest, Dib raised his fist to bring it down. He froze.

_What am I doing?_

A dark shadow flowed between them and lifted them off their feet by their collars. "Enough! You two, go to the office." Growled Miss Bitters.

"But Miss Bitters, I didn't do nothin'." Torque pleaded. "Dib just up an' attacked me for no reason!"

"He lies!" Yelled Dib, swinging his fists madly.

"Silence, Dib! Torque, you may take Dib's desk. Go sit down." Released, Torque scampered over to his new desk and beamed possessively.

"Dib, to the office, NOW!" Miss bitters let him drop to the floor and his knees slammed into the hard tiles. Gritting his teeth against the pain, he limped out of the classroom and started down the hall.

_Dib._

He started and glanced around the empty hall, searching for the source of the faint voice he had heard.

_Dib._

His heart thumped. _Maybe a ghost of some tormented child haunts this hallway. What luck! I gotta come back._ Aloud he called, "Um, yeah, ghost-child, don't leave, okay? Just keep moaning to your poor, tormented self, I'll be back to listen to you tonight."

_I'll be waiting._

Dib dashed down the hall. The sooner detention was over, the sooner he could work on this new case.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

_Too dark!_ He tripped, dropping his tape-recorder. It clattered in the dark hallway, painfully loud. Wincing, he stooped, picked it up, and checked the mechanisms. _Not broken, good._

Glancing around, he called softly, "Tormented ghost-child? I'm here, you can talk to me if you want. I'll be more than happy to listen." He clicked the record button and set the tape down in the hallway.

"Hello, dork." Dib whipped around and there stood Torque and his three goons.

"Wha--? Why are _you_ here?" Dib demanded.

Torque smirked. "Jus' thought I'd settle the score about that little incident earlier." He leaned forward and sneered, "Nobody tries to hit Torque, ya got that, dweeb?"

"Y-yes Torque, whatever you say, I'm sorry!" Dib quailed, scooting down the hall. The bullies closed in.

"Sorry don't cut it. You's gotta be punished, taught a lesson." A meaty fist reached out and caught the collar of Dib's trench coat. "Dweebs gotta learn their places."

_Hand up, arm bent, slam down._

A splintering crack. Torque howled and released Dib, holding his arm in agony. "Get 'im!" He bellowed. Instantly the others lunged for Dib.

_Dodge, stick out leg, hold out arm._

Grunts and yelps. One goon slammed into the wall as he tripped over Dib's leg, the other ran into Dib's outstretched fist and flipped backward. The third goon rushed him.

_Stand. Wait. Wait. Drop!_

The goon tripped over Dib's crouched form and slammed his head into the corner of the wall, cracking his skull. Blood trickled to the floor, forming a small puddle.

Horror seized Dib. _Where did that come from?_

_From me._

He gulped. "G-ghost child?" The bodiless voice laughed. "Wher-where are you?"

_That is for me to know and you to find out. Leave now._

"B-but I wanted to-to ask you—"

_LEAVE NOW!_

He didn't remember running from Skool screaming like a maniac. He didn't remember dashing through the house, oblivious to Gaz' threats. And he certainly didn't remember running head-on into his closed door.

……………………………………………………………………………………………….

_Pulsing, throbbing crowd, all gathered to watch. Excitement fills senses, cannot contain. Dropping to knees, pride and joy possessing. Cries out,_

"_I swear to thee, my Tallests, _

_As leaders and commanders of the Irkin Empire,_

_Loyalty and Bravery. _

_I vow to thee and to superiors _

_Whom thou shalt appoint _

_Obediance unto death, _

_With all my heart, mind and soul."_

_It has been done. Invader, finally, an Invader!_


	4. Battle Stance

**Note:** Read Invader Sideos' stories! He's a really good writer, master of plot! He put forward this storyline as a fanfic challenge, and I am having great fun writing it. My apologies for not updating, there's this thing called Skool you see… that plus I'm running a MySpace account FOR Zim, great fun. But I'm very sorry, will try not to let it happen again. Also, my computer is running hecka slow right now, so the server kept timing out and I couldn't upload anything. As it is, I'm uploading this from a different computer. Again, I'm very sorry.

………………………………………………………………………………………

_Back straight, eyes wide. Tallests are inspecting! The come slowly down the line. Breath catches, they stare, then pass. Safe!_

_Squeal of terror, rows of heads swinging that way. Smeet Krip didn't pass. Shudder, but show no fear. Tank of water produced. Wide-eyed Krip shakes, held by two SIRs. Tallest Red flicks finger, Krip is dumped into tank._

_He cannot scream, cannot breathe. Eyes scream anguish, then melt. Skin curls up and floats to top of tank, revealing squeedly spooch and other organs working frantically. They turn black and dissolve, turning the water a sickening green. Krip dies, can hear his silent screams…_

_Tallests are eating donuts, discussing Red's new lasers. Straighten. Never fail Tallests! Never show weakness! Weakness equals death. Not weak! Never weak!_

………………………………………………………………………………………

"You'd better not have passed out again."

Dib winced as a set of hands angrily seized him. "Ow, Gaz, lemme go! I was just, ummm, resting. Resting in the hallway."

"Where'd you get that bruise on your forehead then?" she sneered.

"Uh, got into a scrap at school. No biggie." He shrugged, hoping to deter more questions.

Snorting, she released him and stalked off, muttering, "Lies! Lies! Filthy lies."

Dib blinked. "Wh-what?" he stuttered.

"I said 'whiner,' are you deaf on top of being stupid?"

………………………………………………………………………………………

_Something big is coming._

Dub flung himself to the side just as a huge fist slammed into his locker. Torque glared at him, his other arm bound in a cast.

"Tol' my folks it was you that did this," he rumbled, "Tol' the doctors, tol' the teachers! Every last one of 'em laughed in my face an' said it was impossible, that you wouldn't hurt a fly unless it came from Mars."

Dib scowled. "You shouldn't have attacked me last night!"

"You shouldn't have attacked me yesterday!"

"You shouldn't have thrown that eraser!"

"You shouldn't have been born!"

Dib's eyes thinned to slits and his lips flattened. "One wrong move, Torque, and I'll make you wish I hadn't."

Torque smirked. "Little late, freak. Been wishing that ever since you came to this Skool. And I'm not alone either." Dib stiffened. "Nobody likes you, you nut. You've been here for three years and haven't made one friend, except that retard Gretchen. Face it, if you were to vanish, nobody would care. Heck, I'd throw a party!"

_Bend knees, push off, arms extended, aim for stomach._

"Ooooomph!" The air whooshed from Torque's lungs as Dib crashed into his stomach. Using the momentum he had gained, Dib rolled away and crouched in battle stance.

_What am I doing!_ His mind screamed. _I don't know this stuff, I don't start fights! Where's it coming from?_ Blinking, Dib spotted Ms. Bitters making a beeline for him. But instead of the usual terror that gripped him, an arrogant calm settled in. He leaned against the lockers and crossed his arms as she materialized in front of him. Her evil stare nearly melted his resolve, but he held firm.

"Care to explain why you tackled a defenseless student, Dib?" She snarled.

"No."

"No?"

"No. He was insulting me, which is not fitting since I have a mental capacity clearly superior to his. What is there to explain?" He yawned.

Blackness enveloped him, and all he could see was Ms. Bitters' eyes, glowing a deep, pulsing red. "Skool doesn't take kindly to fights, Dib. I think it's about time you learned that."

………………………………………………………………………………………

The garbage can made a pleasing clang as he hurled it against the side of his house. Howling his anger to the sky, he tore at the ground with his fingers, raking deep gashes into the lawn. He felt his fingernails tearing away but he didn't care, he continued, wreaking havoc on the one thing he could destroy.

"Your voice is making me sick." He turned to face an irritated Gaz. "And you made me lose on level 29." Clenching a fist, she advanced on him. "That's grounds for a beating around here."

"GET AWAY FROM ME, FILTHY DIRT-CHILD!" He screamed, hooking his bleeding hands into claws. Gaz paused, a flicker of shock crossing her face.

"What… did… you… just… call… me!" She rumbled, her face darkening.

Dib kneeled there, rooted to the spot. _I must have been watching Zim for too long, now I'm even acting and speaking like him! Calm down, Dib. Act normal, placate her, placate her or you're dead!_

"I'm… sorry Gaz." He forced out. "I haven't been… it's been a difficult day." He extended a blood-streaked hand. "Look, I'll make it up to you."

"You bet you will," she sneered, advancing on him.

"No, really!" He panicked. "All your chores, I'll do them for a month!"

She hesitated. "You will?"

"I swear."

Eyeing him, she turned and stomped back into the house. "You live for now."

Wincing, he gazed in a stupor at his wrecked hands. _What's going on?_


	5. First Blood

**Note:** I will continue to repeat until the end of this story, READ INVADER SIDEOS STORIES! This whole thing was HIS idea, I'm just writing it out.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

The clear liquid spilled from the black bottle, splashing on Dib's fingers and foaming. He sucked in a breath at the sizzling pain, wondering how many germs had made their homes in the wreckage of his hands. He had spent the better part of an hour carefully clipping off the remains of his fingernails. Very little was left, but they would grow back in time. The more pressing matter was how to keep them clean.

Biting his lip, he wrapped strips of gauze around each of his fingertips. When finished, he stared at his face in the mirror. His eyes were bloodshot and ringed with dark circles. His right cheek had a small twitch and even his shock of sickle hair hung limp.

"Get out of the bathroom, loser!" He cringed. He had saved his skin by promising to do Gaz's chores, but she was still angry about being called a "dirt-child". By the tone of her voice, her day hadn't improved much.

"Just a minute," he called, fumbling with the medical tape.

"No, not just a minute, now! You've been in there for an hour and I have to brush my teeth. Get out!" A heavy thud came at the door, alerting him to how serious his situation was.

_You don't have to listen to her._

Smirking, he called, "I'll take all the time I need to. I notice _you_ always take your sweet time when I have to go."

A gutteral growl seeped through the door and chilled his spine, but he forced himself to continue. "So you can just sit yourself down and wait. I'm not done with the banda—"

The door imploded inward, knocking Dib from the counter and dumping the bottle of peroxide all over him. Spluttering, he leapt to his feet only to catch Gaz's fist in his eye. Stunned, he reeled backward as she threw one punch after another; one to the jaw, two to the mouth, one to the gut. _Will she stop already?_ His world exploded with new pain as she brought her foot up between his legs. Hard.

_Bend knees, lean back, push off._

In midair his hands found the shower curtain.

_Latch on, swing around, jump on._

His feet came down on Gaz's shoulders and she gave a grunt of surprise. They toppled to the floor, her shoulder crunching under his foot.

"Now you've done it, you oaf," she hissed, obviously in pain. "Dad'll have a fit when he hears about it."

_Slap!_

Her eyes went wide as a trickle of blood seeped from her lip. Satisfaction spread over Dib's face. _I've wanted to do that for a long time._ Aloud, he said, "He won't hear about it, will he Gazzy?"

Frowning, she struggled to get up. "What do you mean? Of course he—"

_Slap!_

Her upper lip split, forming a second river of blood down her chin. Her anger wavered, replaced by fear. Tears pooled in her eyes.

Dib froze at the sight. _This is my sister, what am I doing!_ But he had gone too far to back out now. Grimacing, he pulled her roughly to her feet and shook her. "I said, Dad won't hear about it, will he?"

Hatred flashed in her eyes. Utter, complete hatred. She pulled away from him and limped out of the bathroom, muttering, "Whatever."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

_They come. Every day they come to inspect. Must pass. If can't pass, can't survive. Two muscular Irkins, they walk down the line with narrowed eyes. Each day the crowd thins by one or two smeets. Will not be one of those that… they stop, they stare. Tense. One nods, and a meaty hand reaches out to grab head._

_No! Have not come this far for nothing. Extend spiderlegs, leap for nearest Irkin, knock him on his back. Other one is coming. Hold up spiderleg. Irkin runs into it, it sticks through his belly out his back. Green blood flows down spiderleg, touching arm. Shudder, wrench spiderleg free._

_Two red-eyed SIRs approach, what now? Shift into battle mode. One swoops down. Says, "Congratulations, young smeet. You are to be pulled from pre-training to intensive Invader training immediately."_

_Joy swells. Will never forget this day, the day strength was proved._

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Dib woke to the taste of cotton. _Cotton?_ With a jerk, he realized his pillow was in shreds. _Who did—_Horrified, he spit wet lumps of cotton from his mouth. _I did that?_ He shook his head. Weird things had been happening. Too weird. Ever since he'd cornered Zim.

_Maybe it would have been better if I'd left him alone._

He shook off the thought. He had rid the world of Zim, that was good. Whatever weird things were happening were just the result of some spoiled food he'd eaten, or the ghost child—the ghost child! Dib slapped his forehead and cursed. He'd forgotten about the tormented ghost at school. Hopping out of bed, he set a new personal record dressing for school, packing his backpack, and wolfing down breakfast. Preoccupied as he was with his thoughts, he did not see the fearful, yet furious looks Gaz gave him from across the breakfast table.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

He peeked into the hall, excitement pounding in his veins. He rarely played hooky, but this was important! The ghost might even help him figure out what had been going on with him lately. He slipped into the hall, eyeing the rows of lockers with caution. Glancing at the wall clock, he made a note to keep track of time. It wouldn't do to be caught in the hall during passing periods, it would ruin everything!

He had barely clicked on his tape recorder when he heard it.

_Hello, Dib._


	6. Whispers

**Note:** If I start writing like this is a soap opera, I command you to slap me upside the head. In my Zim MySpace account, I have been accused of writing Zim lines that are soap-opera-ish. Horrors! It was an accident, my mind is mixing things up because somehow the Teen Titans got involved as well, gaaaaa! Oh, you don't know what I'm talking about. Anyway, please yell at me if I get TOO ooc, okay?

_Kill them._

He groaned, shoving his head deeper into the pillow. The voice had been plaguing him for three days. Ever since the discussion in the hallway with the tormented ghost-child, of which Dib could not remember a single word. All his tape players went on the fritz at the same time so he could play the recording he had taken.

_They are just in your way. They torment you every day. They don't have to stay. Kill them so they'll go away._

"Wonderful," He mumbled, hopping out of bed. "I've got the ghost-child of Dr. Seuss haunting ME now." He pulled on his bathrobe and stumbled out to the kitchen. It was still dark out, and the stars shone down. He set the kettle boiling. Hot cocoa always helped him sleep. He stared out the window, picking out the constellations.

_"There's Orion, Scylla, the Big Dipper, Ursa Major, and Shintarka, the star that points the way… to…"_

_Irk._

"Hey loser, the tea-kettle is whistling! You woke me up." Gaz stalked in, her fists clenched. "You know what? I don't care about what happened in the bathroom. That was luck on your part. But you won't be so lucky this time!"

The whole time Gaz spoke, Dib heard nothing of what she said. He gaped as Zim's voice echoed in his ears instead of Gaz's voice.

_Filthy, disgusting hyuman! So full of it, you think you've won! You always did, I'm back! Well? You want to try to kill Zim now? Go ahead, just try, you pitiful hyuman smeet!_

Before his eyes, Gaz's features turned a sickly green. Her hair disappeared, replaced by two antennae. And her eyes darkened and grew round until they took up most of her head and were a rich red color.

An animalistic howl tore from Dib's throat as he leapt forward, his hands around Zim's throat before he knew it. He tackled Zim to the floor, pinning him there as he raised his fist and slammed it into that smug alien face. Zim spit blood, but did not stop smiling. _Is that the best you can do, hyuman?_ Dib clenched his teeth and pounded his fist into the face over and over. He dragged Zim off the floor and smashed his head against the wall, but the alien still smiled. _Stupid fool._

Enraged, Dib looked around and spotted a hammer. He left Zim in a crumpled heap on the floor, seized the hammer, and came back. He raised the hammer and deliverd a final blow to Zim's head. Seconds before the impact, Zim's face melted away, revealing Gaz's terrified, bloody face.

The hammer made a terrific crunch. Dib felt bone and cartilage snap, and fresh blood flowed. For the first time, Dib noticed it was red blood, not green. He dropped the hammer, bewildered. "It… wasn't… Zim? GAZ!" He rolled her over to see her face, gagging at the sight of all the blood. "Oh Gaz, oh man, I didn't mean it, I thought—Gaz." He grabbed her wrist and felt desperately for a pulse. There it was, slightly fluttering. He raced to the phone and dialed 9-1-1.

"Operator, it's an emergency! I think I just about killed my sister! Get over here, now!" Panicked, he hung up without telling the operator where they were. He dropped to his knees and vomited. "Oh Gaz, what did I do?" His eyes snapped open. _"The voice,"_ He dashed to his room, grabbed his cassette tape, and rushed to Gaz's room. Shoving it into the nearest player, he hit the play button.

"Ghost child, is that you?" Brief pause. "Well, I'm here, what do you want to say?" Another pause. "What do you mean 'you'll find out'? And what's been going on lately? I've been acting more and more like—" Dib slammed his fist into the tape player over and over. He dug his fingers into it and pulled it apart, screaming, "NO! IT'S NOT TRUE! I'M NOT ZIM!" He threw the machine through the window, shattering the glass.

Sobbing, he lowered himself to the ground. At that moment, his Dad came home.

……………………………………………………………………………………………….

The newsreels all had the pictures. Pictures of Gaz, beat to a bloody pulp, who had died minutes after her hospitalization from massive internal bleeding and brain damage. Pictures of Dib, her murderer, curled up on the floor, blood all over him. Pictures of Dib, the sweet, annoying child he used to be. Pictures of Dib, wrapped in a straightjacket.

The trial had been a blur for Dib. His Dad had been his defense attorney, pulling strings and plea-bargaining to keep Dib out of Death Row. The judge had agreed, but had a psychologist examine him. Dib vaguely remembered sitting calmly in the chair one moment, and the next getting up on the man's desk, stomping, and declaring, "Dib needs no filthy examinations!"

There had been a quick diagnosis—acute skitzophrenia with homicidal tendencies. The judge had sentenced Dib to life in the local Assylum for Insane People Who Are Insane, and Dib was led away by two men clad in white, screaming threats in English and Irkish at the same time.

He sat in his padded, white cell, staring at the ceiling. The room was only five feet square, with the cot and toilet taking up most of the room. The bulb in the ceiling flickered annoyingly. Dib's eye twitched.

Suddenly the walls began to fall away… or was it Dib who was falling? Something was falling, because all Dib could see was blackness. Endless blackness. Occasionally twisted rolls of film would fly past, giving him a flash of his past, but disappearing before it was fully recognize.

His eyes roamed the darkness, searching for anything, a landmark or familiar figure. It latched onto the former.

"Hello, Dib-stink. Did you miss Zim?"


	7. Alone

Screaming in rage, Dib clawed through the darkness. _One moment, just one moment!_ he pled. _Let me get my hands around his neck for one moment…_

Zim laughed chillingly as he seized Dib's hands and flipped the boy over his head into the darkness beyond. Spinning around, he advanced on Dib, his boots clicking on invisible flooring. "Foolish smeet. Did you really think you could best Zim?" Dib groaned, rising shakily to his feet. "Did you truly believe that in all your youth and childish lucklessness you could _ever _defeat an_ Irken!_" Zim's hand clenched into a fist and swung up before Dib could react, flinging him back.

"But I did!" He yelled, spitting blood. "I beat you, you died!"

A hollow laugh rang through his skull. "Idiotic hyuman. Zim did not die. Zim found a way to live on and exact revenge." Grinning, he stretched his arm into the blackness and plucked a movie reel from the air. Grasping one end of the film strip, he slowly unwound it. Mesmerized, Dib watched as Zim's PAK attacked him, plunging its wires deep into his spine and reaching up to grasp his brain. "Every second my PAK was in contact with your puny hyuman mind was a moment it was downloading Zim's life, memories, and personality into your own." He shrugged carelessly. "It was merely a matter of time before you undid yourself. Killing the Gaz-hyuman was not Zim's idea, but it was a nice touch, do you not think?"

Numb, Dib sank to his knees, holding his head. "The tape," he whispered. "I couldn't hear the ghost-child on the tape—it was you, in my head."

"Yes Dib. Zim has been in your rather large head for a number of days now." The Irken polished his claws on his uniform. "I must admit, your will was surprisingly strong, but nothing can resist Zim forever. And now," he added, extending a second self-destruct mechanism, "Zim will leave you."

Dib sprang to his feet. "What are you talking about? You can't leave, you're in my head!"

Zim grinned, revealing his zipper-teeth. "Oh but I can. What you see is all that is left of Zim, all memories and personality pulled together in one image. I admit, it would be enjoyable tormenting you for the rest of your miserable days, but the satisfaction of knowing you will be left alone in the dark will be enough for Zim."

Dib's eyes widened with horror as the realization of what Zim was about to do struck him. "No, don't, please!" He stretched out a pleading hand.

Zim's eyes sparkled. "Dear Irk, you really are a smeet." With that, his gloved finger came down on the self-destruct button.

……………………………………………………………………………………………….

If, at that moment, anyone had glanced into room 323 at the Assylum for Insane People who are Insane, they would have seen a haggard boy. His black, sickle hair frizzled and limp, his eyes sunken in, his twitching hands a bloody wreck. They would have seen his eyes open wide for a moment, then they would have heard a long, blood-curdling howl that could only come from the pit of despair. They would see him crawl on the padded floor, begging for someone, anyone, to come and talk to him. To tell him he was not alone.

But no one could hear him scream.

THE END

**Note:** Yeargh, please don't hate the ending. Once again, this was a fanfic challenge by Invader Sideos, brilliant plotmaster, READ HIS STUFF! Yes, this was very much lots of fun to write, and my grammar is all gone bye-bye now, so I will finish this off and begin writing the sequel to Another Set of Eyes…


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